How to Market Vacation Rentals for Corporate Housing

Sep 21, 2016

Are you looking for a new revenue source for your vacation rental property management company? It may be a good time to look at corporate housing as a new marketplace for your properties.

According to the U.S. Travel Association, direct spending on business travel by domestic and international travelers, including expenditures on meetings, events and incentive programs (ME&I), totaled $296.3 billion in 2015.

By comparison, direct spending on leisure travel by domestic and international travelers totaled $650.8 billion in 2015.

While leisure travel still tops the charts, it is apparent from these statistics that business travel represents a significant growth opportunity for the discerning vacation rental property management company.

Corporate Housing in the Age of "Bleisure"

Entrepreneur's "More U.S. Workers are Mixing and Business and Pleasure" observes that a growing trend among American business travelers involves "bleisure", defined as the practice of squeezing personal leisure time into a business trip.

Perhaps this trend is rooted in the fact that American workers are not taking advantage of all their earned vacation days like they once did. The Entrepreneur article notes that a recent Oxford Economics study revealed that the average American failed to take five earned days off in 2014.

In any event, the trend seems to be increasing. Especially for the business traveler who will be away from home for weeks or months at a time, the idea of bringing family along and including leisure time makes business traveling more palatable.

Marketing Your Vacation Rentals as Corporate Housing

Marketing your vacation rentals to business travelers looking for short-term corporate housing requires a bit of a shift in mindset. Corporate travelers are looking for something different from vacationers. Here are some things to include in your property listings that are of special interest to business travelers:

Since some corporate travelers may be looking to stay for a month or more, it is good to spell out any discounts provided for monthly versus weekly rates.

Corporate travelers also want to be assured that their technology needs will be met in your rental property. Things like hi-speed internet are a prerequisite for many business travelers.

Information about proximity to business centers, transportation options, and dining options is desired.

If the traveler will be bringing family along, you might want to include information about area attractions, day trips and activities for kids, and babysitting services in the area.

Damage deposits or property insurance issues need to be ironed out ahead of time.

Clearly define your pet policy, as some business travelers do travel with their pets for long trips.

What are some other considerations for marketing to business travelers looking for corporate housing? While every potential traveler wants to see high-quality photos or videos of your rental property, this may be especially true of the business traveler.

Since your property will be the business traveler's home away from home for weeks or even months, everything about your property becomes more important, including the furnishings, the cooking appliances and supplies, the garbage collection and recycling policies, and so on. The more information you provide, the more comfortable a business traveler will be in choosing your vacation rental property as a good base of operations.

Listing Considerations for Corporate Housing

Where should you list your properties to find a corporate audience? Nesthopper.com notes:

"While there are countless rental websites available, you will likely experience more success with a niche site that targets your ideal audience. Make sure to select a site with the option for online reviews or ratings. This will help shape your online reputation and build trust in your properties."

Many of Kigo's listing portal partners offer short-term rentals as corporate housing options. This means that you can easily manage your corporate housing listings right along with your other listings through Kigo Channel Manager.

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